MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Top-ranked Blackman will make the eight-mile drive across town for a fifth straight year.
Blackman routed Bradley Central 69-39 on Monday night in a TSSAA Class AAA boys' basketball sectional to clinch its fifth consecutive appearance in the state tournament at Middle Tennessee State University.
"This is such a great feeling," Blackman senior Christian Dewitt said. "This one right here, my senior year, it's the most important to me to bring (the gold ball) home."
Blackman ended Bradley Central's season for the second straight season and third time in those five years. The Bears finished 24-8 this season.
Blackman (32-0) improved to 141-17 over the past five years with the win. The Blaze will find out their state quarterfinal opponent at 5 p.m. CST today during the TSSAA's blind draw held at MTSU.
This team has been for each other and together and had an unbelievable commitment to each other," Blackman coach Barry Wortman said. "Everything we did from conditioning to weights in the spring, and the commitment to each other in an unselfish way, means a lot."
Blackman broke the game open with an 11-0 run early in the third quarter to stretch a four-point lead to a 34-19 advantage after Jarrell Reeves' dunk.
Bradley Central managed to keep it to 39-25 behind six points from Cole Copeland. But the Blaze hit a pair of 3-pointers and a free throw in the final 2:20 of the third quarter to take a 46-27 lead.
Reeves finished off an alley-oop pass from Donovan Sims for his second dunk of the night to open the fourth quarter . That started a 9-3 run to make it 55-30.
"They started lighting it up from the corners and hitting 3 balls everywhere," Bradley coach Chuck Clark said. "The floodgates opened up. They are an exceptional team. They aren't 32-0 for nothing.
"They hit a couple of shots, got happy and next thing you know it's game over."
Cedriontis Wilson led the Blaze with 19 points. Christian Dewitt had 13 points, including 11 in the second half. And Deonte Alley finished with 10. Blackman hit seven 3-pointers in the game.
Copeland led Bradley Central with 14 points. Tyrell Pitner added seven.